Congress plans nationwide stir against Centre over unemployment, inflation and paper leaks

THe united states congress on th proclaimed a nationwide run against ground Minister Narendra Modi and the Bharatiya Janata Party-led government over issues such as unemployment, inflation and recurring examination paper leaks, a day after the BJP marked PM Modi becoming the country’s longest-serving elected premier, party leaders aware of the matter said.The decision was taken at a meeting of Pradesh Congress Committee presidents, AICC general secretaries and state in-charges chaired by Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge and attended by Leader of the Opposition Rahul Gandhi and party general secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra.The agitation is likely to begin by the end of June and continue for two to three months, party leaders said.In the meeting Rahul Gandhi asked the leaders to have “Agitational energy”!“Under the leadership of INC President Mallikarjun Kharge ji and LoP Rahul Gandhi ji, attended the meeting with AICC general secretaries, in-charges and PCC presidents from across India to discuss the present political situation. Unemployment, rampant paper leaks, skyrocketing inflation and economic destruction caused by the Modi government’s disastrous policies were part of the agenda,” Congress general secretary (organisation) KC Venugopal said in a post on X after the meeting.“We also discussed the state of our democracy, the threats to our Constitution and the need to continue our fight for social justice,” he added.According to two leaders present at the meeting, Rahul Gandhi warned that an “economic tsunami” was headed towards India and blamed the Modi government’s policies for the impending crisis.A senior Congress leader from south India said Gandhi argued that the crisis would affect all sectors and sections of society. He also criticised the government’s foreign and trade policies, alleging that New Delhi had allowed itself to be dictated by the United States on oil imports from Russia and had compromised farmers’ interests in the proposed India-US trade agreement.Priyanka Gandhi Vadra stressed the need for a well-planned and focused campaign, urging party leaders to ensure effective monitoring and coordination at all organisational levels, leaders present at the meeting said.Addressing reporters after the meeting, Venugopal said the party had also discussed the rejection of Congress leader Meenakshi Natarajan’s Rajya Sabha nomination and would challenge the matter both politically and legally.“This is a clear-cut case of seat theft. They are taking MPs from other parties, making them resign and then turning them into BJP MPs. We will fight this legally and politically,” he said.Venugopal also attacked the government over the economic situation, alleging that rising prices of petrol, diesel and LPG had put people under severe distress.“Unemployment is at its peak. The MSME sector is completely destroyed. Youth are worried about their future. There are no employment opportunities,” he said.The proposed mobilisation would be the Congress’s first major nationwide agitation since its campaign earlier this year against the Centre’s alleged attempts to weaken the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA).